Pedal attachment

ABSTRACT

A molded single piece plastic foot pedal member having a lengthwise extending center bushing for rotatably mounting the pedal member on the outer end of a crank has a slot formed in the bushing which extends transversely across the central portion of the bushing. The slot is adapted to have locking means inserted therein to lock the pedal to the crank after the outer end of the crank is inserted into the bushing past the slot.

United States Patent m] nin 145] Feb. 20, 1973 [54] PEDAL ATTACK-[MENT[75] lnventor: Loran R. Hill, Olney, lll.

[73] Assignee: AMF Incorporated [22] Filed: June 9, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:151,456

[52] U.S. Cl. ..74/594.4, 287/53, 29/453, 29/525 [51] lnt. Cl. B62m 3/08[58] Field of Search ....74/594.4, 594.1; 29/508, 512, 29/517, 526, 525,453

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,568,443 9/1951 Gemer etal. ..74/594.4 2,916,299 12/1959 Gauld ..74/594.4 X

2,226,424 12/ 1940 Bullock ..74/594.4 2,567,785 9/1951 Rieger .74/594.4X 2,899,842 8/1959 Krokos et al. ..74/594.4

Primary Examiner-Milton Kaufman Assistant Examiner-F. D. ShoemakerAttorney-George W. Price and Walter Lewis [57] ABSTRACT A molded singlepiece plastic foot pedal member having a lengthwise extending centerbushing for rotatably mounting the pedal member on the outer end of acrank has a slot formed in the bushing which extends transversely acrossthe central portion of the bushing. The slot is adapted to have lockingmeans inserted therein to lock the pedal to the crank after the outerend of the crank is inserted into the bushing past the slot.

I 5 laims, 4 Drawing Figures PEDAL ATTACHMENT This invention relates toa pedal assembly for a tricycle, bicycle, or other pedal operatedvehicle, and more particularly, to an improved pedal assembly and an improved method of making the same.

In one prior art form of pedal assembly a swage is formed on the crankadjacent to its bend or elbow. Then a washer is slipped on the crank andthen the crank is inserted into the lengthwise extending center bushingof the pedal. The outermost end of the crank extends through thebushing. A washer is slipped on the outermost end of the crank and thena locking cap or the like is placed on the outerrnost end of the crank.Although this briefly described prior art structure and method has beensatisfactor-y it would be desirable to reduce the cost thereof byreducing the parts and method steps required.

It is an object of this invention to reduce the costs of a pedalassembly by reducing the number of parts and method steps required forthe same.

Briefly, in one form of the invention the foot pedal is a single piecemolded plastic member. lt has a lengthwise extending center bushing formounting the pedal on the crank. A slot is formed in the bushing. Theslot extends transversely across the central portion of the bushing andis adapted to have locking means inserted therein so that when the crankis inserted into the bushing the pedal and crank are locked together.One form of the locking means is an expandable annular locking ring. Thelocking ring is inserted into the slot and then the crank is insertedinto the bushing and through the locking ring to lock the crank to thepedal.

The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are setforth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself,however, both as to its organization and operation, together withfurther objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another form of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 3.

In the drawings only those parts are shown and described which arenecessary for an understanding of the invention. Like parts will beassigned the same reference numeral throughout the various Figures.

Refe'ring now rst to. FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrated therein is a crankhaving a foot pedal 11 mounted thereon. The foot pedal 11 is a unitarysingle piece molded plastic member. It has a lengthwise extending centerbushing 12 and two spaced lengthwise extending serrated foot treadportions 13 disposed along opposite sides of the bushing 12. The parts12 and 13 have their corresposing ends connected together by endportions 14. The parts 12 and 13 are also connected together by integralwebs 15. In the invention a slot 16 is formed in the central portion ofthe bushing 12. The slot 16 extends transversely across the bushing 12and into the webs 15. The crank 10 has a groove 17 formed thereinapproximately midway of its outer end.

A split expandable resilient annular member or ring 18 is provided forlocking the pedal and crank together. The ring 18 may be constructedfrom metal or plastic. In assembling the pedal and crank together thering 18 is inserted into the slot 16. Thereafter the crank 10 isinserted into the bushing 12 and forced through the ring 18 until groove17 is aligned with the slot 16. The ring 18 will snap into the groove 17so that the foot pedal and crank are locked together. The pedal cannotunintentionally come off the crank inasmuch as Vthe ring 18 is nested inthe groove 17 and ring 18 is in position to be engaged with or abuttedby the contiguous portions of the bushing 12 which define the slot 16.

The invention is particularly suitable for low cost pedal operatedvehicles such as tricycles, sidewalk bieycles, children's fire engines,autos and the like. In such devices it is common to use a low costsingle piece crank bent into shape from rod stock and molded' plasticpedals. These devices have to be low cost to be attractive to thepurchaser, and the invention is` directed to that end. It will beappreciated that the saving is actually double that shown since allthese vehicles use two pedal assembiies.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, this form of the invention is exactlythe same as that just described except for the different locking meansto lock the pedal and crank together. This form of the inventionillustrates the maximum reduction in parts and method steps which can beachieved with this invention over the previously described prior art.The crank 10 has nothing done to it. In other words there is no groove17 as in FIGS. 1 and 2. The annular locking ring or member 18" is notsplit but it is expandable. Ring 18 is a one-way drive-on lock washer.Its intemal circumference has spaced serrations or teeth 20 formedthereon which can be deformed outwardly as the crank is forcedtherethrough. The teeth or serrations 20 will lock bite into thecircumferential surface of the crank 10 in a manner obvious to thoseskilled in the art. As before, in assembling the structure the ring 18is first positioned in the slot 16 and then the crank 10 is insertedinto the center bushing 12 and forced through and past the ring 18. Inboth forms of the invention the outerrnost extremity of the crank has abevelled surface 19 formed thereon to make it easier to forcibly insertthe crank into the locking rings 18 and 18.

In the invention the shaft part of the crank 10 which is inserted intothe center bushing 12 can be about one inch shorter than has beenrequired in the prior art. There are several reasons for this. One isthat the prior art swages hereto formed at the comer bend of the crankare omitted and also the washer that is positioned on the crank adjacentto those swages. Also the crank does not have to be inserted clearthrough the bushing 12 so that a portion of its outermost end protrudesthrough the pedal. This is'because no second washer of parts or piecesrequired by the prior art as well as the method steps needed to assemblethe same. ln addition, a further cost reduction is obtained inasmuch asthe outer shaft end of the crank can be shortened as compared to thatrequired by the prior art.

While there have been shown and described particular embodiments of theinvention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modications may be made without departing from the invention, andtherefore, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all suchchanges and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe nvention. A

What is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A pedal assembly, comprising a crank, a foot pedal, and meansretaining said pedal on said crank, said pedal having a lengthwiseextending center` bushing for receiving the outer end of said crank torotatably mount said pedal on said crank, a slot extending transverselyacross the central portion of said bushing, the outer end of said crankbeing disposed in said bushing, and means disposed in said slot andengaged with the outer end of said crank and contiguous portions of saidbushingdefning said slot to fx said pedal to said crank, whereinv saidlast mentioned means comprises a split ring, and circumferential grooveformed on the outer end of said crank, said ring being disposed in saidslot and groove.

2. A pedal assembly, comprising a crank, a foot pedal, and meansretaining said'pedal on said crank, said'pedal having a lengthwiseextending center bushing for receiving the outer end of said crank torotatably mount said pedal on said crank, a slot extending transverselyacrossthe central portion of said bushing, the outer end of said crankbeing disposed in said bushing, and means disposed insaid slot andengaged with the outer end of said crank and contiguous portions of saidbushing defining said'fslot to fixsaid pedal A to said crank, whereinsaid last mentioned means comprises an intemally serrated washer, saidwasher being disposed in said slot and having its internal serrationsengaged with the circumference of the outer end of said crank.

3. A pedal assembly, comprising a crank, a foot pedal, and meansretaining said pedal on said crank, said pedal having a lengthwiseextending center bushing for receiving the outer end of said crank torotatably mount said pedal on said crank, a slot extending transverselyacross the central portion of said bushing, the outer end of said crankbeing disposed in said bushing, and means disposed in said slot andengaged with the outer end of said crank and contiguous portions of saidbushing defining said slot to fx said pedal to said crank, said pedalcomprising a single piece molded plastic member, said pedal having apair of 4. A method of assembling a rotatable foot pedal having alengthwise extending center bushing to a crank, said method comprisingformng a transverse slot in the central portion of said bushing,positioning an annular shaft locking member in said slot, and then yinserting the end of said crank into said bushing and through saidlocking member.

- 5. In a method as in claim 4, wherein said annular shaft lockingmember isexpandable, and said crank end is forcibly inserted throughsaid locking member to lock said pedal and cranktogether.

1. A pedal assembly, comprising a crank, a foot pedal, and meansretaining said pedal on said crank, said pedal having a lengthwiseextending center bushing for receiving the outer end of said crank torotatably mount said pedal on said crank, a slot extending transverselyacross the central portion of said bushing, the outer end of said crankbeing disposed in said bushing, and means disposed in said slot andengaged with the outer end of said crank and contiguous portions of saidbushing defining said slot to fix said pedal to said crank, wherein saidlast mentioned means comprises a split ring, and circumferential grooveformed on the outer end of said crank, said ring being disposed in saidslot and groove.
 1. A pedal assembly, comprising a crank, a foot pedal,and means retaining said pedal on said crank, said pedal having alengthwise extending center bushing for receiving the outer end of saidcrank to rotatably mount said pedal on said crank, a slot extendingtransversely across the central portion of said bushing, the outer endof said crank being disposed in said bushing, and means disposed in saidslot and engaged with the outer end of said crank and contiguousportions of said bushing defining said slot to fix said pedal to saidcrank, wherein said last mentioned means comprises a split ring, andcircumferential groove formed on the outer end of said crank, said ringbeing disposed in said slot and groove.
 2. A pedal assembly, comprisinga crank, a foot pedal, and means retaining said pedal on said crank,said pedal having a lengthwise extending center bushing for receivingthe outer end of said crank to rotatably mount said pedal on said crank,a slot extending transversely across the central portion of saidbushing, the outer end of said crank being disposed in said bushing, andmeans disposed in said slot and engaged with the outer end of said crankand contiguous portions of said bushing defining said slot to fix saidpedal to said crank, wherein said last mentioned means comprises aninternally serrated washer, said washer being disposed in said slot andhaving its internal serrations engaged with the circumference of theouter end of said crank.
 3. A pedal assembly, comprising a crank, a footpedal, and means retaining said pedal on said crank, said pedal having alengthwise extending center bushing for receiving the outer end of saidcrank to rotatably mount said pedal on said crank, a slot extendingtransversely across the central portion of said bushing, the outer endof said crank being disposed in said bushing, and means disposed in saidslot and engaged with the outer end of said crank and contiguousportions of said bushing defining said slot to fix said pedal to saidcrank, said pedal comprising a single piece molded plastic member, saidpedal having a pair of spaced serrated foot tread portions disposedalong opposite sides of said center bushing, a pair of end portionsjoining corresponding ends of said tread portions and bushing together,a pair of webs joining opposite sides of the slotted central portion ofsaid bushing to said tread portions, said slot extending to said webs,and said tread portions, center bushing, end portions, and webscomprising integral portions of said single piece molded plastic pedalmember.
 4. A method of assembling a rotatable foot pedal having alengthwise extending center bushing to a crank, said method comprisingforming a transverse slot in the central portion of said bushing,positioning an annular shaft locking member in said slot, and theninserting the end of said crank into said bushing and through saidlocking member.